US to Let Venezuela Pay Maduro's Lawyer in Drug Trafficking Case

Source: US News & World Report/Reuters

April 25, 2026, at 6:58 a.m.


April 25 - The United States has agreed to ⁠modify ⁠its sanctions on Venezuela to ⁠allow the South American country's government to pay Nicolás Maduro's defense lawyer, backing ​off a restriction that had threatened to derail the drug trafficking case against the ousted Venezuelan president, a court filing ‌showed on Friday.

Maduro, 63, and his wife ‌Cilia Flores, 69, were captured from their home in Caracas by U.S. special forces on January 3 and ⁠brought to ⁠New York to face criminal charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy. They have pleaded not ​guilty and are jailed in Brooklyn pending trial.

Maduro's lawyer Barry Pollack in February asked Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the case because U.S. sanctions were preventing the Venezuelan government from paying his legal fees. Pollack said that prohibition ​amounted to a violation of Maduro's rights under the U.S. Constitution to the counsel of his choice.

Neither ⁠Maduro ⁠nor Flores can afford lawyers ⁠on their own, ​and the Venezuelan government is prepared to pay their fees, their lawyers have said. All criminal defendants in ​the U.S. have constitutional rights ⁠regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-04-25/us-to-let-venezuela-pay-maduros-lawyer-in-drug-trafficking-case